Semiconductor memory device capable of shortening erase time

ABSTRACT

In a memory cell array, a plurality of memory cells connected to a plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines are arranged in a matrix. A control circuit controls the potentials of said plurality of word lines and said plurality of bit lines. In an erase operation, the control circuit erases an n number of memory cells (n is a natural number equal to or larger than 2) of said plurality of memory cells at the same time using a first erase voltage, carries out a verify operation using a first verify level, finds the number of cells k (k≤n) exceeding the first verify level, determines a second erase voltage according to the number k, and carries out an erase operation again using the second erase voltage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 120 from U.S. application Ser. No. 15/422,640 filedFeb. 2, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/597,787 filed Jan. 15, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,595,344 issued Mar.14, 2017), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/660,044 filed Oct. 25, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,971,130 issued Mar.3, 2015), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/162,051 filed Jun. 16, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,335,114 issued Dec.18, 2012), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/332,681 filed Dec. 11, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,995,392 issued Aug.9, 2011), and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 fromJapanese Patent Applications No. 2007-322415 filed Dec. 13, 2007 and No.2007-338363 filed Dec. 27, 2007, the entire contents of each of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a semiconductor memory device capable ofstoring a plurality of data items in a single memory cell.

2. Description of the Related Art

A NAND flash memory has been developed as a nonvolatile semiconductormemory device. In a NAND flash memory, all of or half of the cellsarranged in the row direction are connected to bit lines in a one-to-onecorrespondence. Each bit line is connected to a latch circuit whichstores write data and read data. All of or half of the cells (e.g., 2 to4 KB of cells) arranged in the row direction are written to or read fromsimultaneously. In an erase operation, the threshold voltage of a memorycell is made negative and electrons are injected into the memory cell bya write operation, thereby making the threshold voltage positive. Theerase operation is carried out in blocks, each block (e.g., 1 MB ofcells) including a plurality of NAND strings (e.g., refer to Jpn. Pat.Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-192789).

If a memory cell has been erased deeply in an erase operation and thethreshold voltage of the memory cell is made negative strongly, greatstress is placed on the cell, which causes the cell to deterioratefurther. This causes a problem: the data retention characteristic getsworse. Therefore, the cell has to be erased as shallowly as possible.However, if the erase voltage is made lower, the following problemarises: when a NAND flash memory is written to and erased repeatedly, itis erased less easily. To avoid this problem, there is a method of, whenerasing the NAND flash memory shallowly, making the erase voltage lowerand stepping up the erase voltage gradually, thereby erasing the memorygradually. In this case, however, the following problems arise: theerase time increases and stress is placed on the cells because erasepulses are applied to the cells many times.

To overcome this problem, the following technique has been developed:the number of erased cells in a cell erase verify operation is checkedand, if the number of erased cells is smaller than a predeterminednumber, the erase pulse width or erase voltage is increased and erasingis done, and if the number of erased cells is larger than thepredetermined number, the erase pulse width or erase voltage isdecreased and erasing is done, thereby keeping constant the erase speedvarying according to the process or operating environment to preventexcessive erasure (e.g., refer to Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No.2002-25283).

Furthermore, since an erase verify operation is carried out on a NANDstring basis, its verify accuracy is lower than when reading is done ona one-word line basis. To overcome this problem, a nonvolatilesemiconductor memory device capable of shortening erase time andassuring high reliability has been developed (e.g., refer to Jpn. Pat.Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-157890).

However, those are not sufficient and a still shorter erase time and astill higher erase verify accuracy have been desired.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided asemiconductor memory device comprising: a memory cell array in which aplurality of memory cells connected to a plurality of word lines and aplurality of bit lines are arranged in a matrix; and a control circuitwhich controls the potentials of said plurality of word lines and saidplurality of bit lines and which, in an erase operation, erases an nnumber of memory cells (n is a natural number equal to or larger than 2)of said plurality of memory cells at the same time using a first erasevoltage, carries out a verify operation at a first verify level, findsthe number of cells k (k≤n) (k is a natural number equal to or largerthan 1) exceeding the first verify level, determines a second erasevoltage according to the number k, and carries out a second eraseoperation using the second erase voltage.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided asemiconductor memory device comprising: a memory cell array in which aplurality of memory cells connected to a plurality of word lines and aplurality of bit lines are arranged in a matrix; and a control circuitwhich controls the potentials of said plurality of word lines and saidplurality of bit lines and which, in an erase operation, erases saidplurality of memory cells simultaneously, and verifies the thresholdvoltage of a memory cell selected by a specific one of the word linesusing a first verify level, the first verify level being offset by asecond verify level in verifying all the word line simultaneously.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided asemiconductor memory device comprising: a memory cell array in which aplurality of memory cells connected to a plurality of word lines and aplurality of bit lines are arranged in a matrix; and a control circuitwhich controls the potentials of said plurality of word lines and saidplurality of bit lines, wherein, in an erase operation, the controlcircuit erases said plurality of memory cells connected to n word linesof the plurality of word lines simultaneously, and carries out a verifyoperation to determine whether the threshold voltage of a memory cellselected by a specific word line of the n word lines has reached athreshold level in the erase operation using a first verify level.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided asemiconductor memory device comprising: a memory cell array in which aplurality of memory cells connected to a plurality of word lines and aplurality of bit lines are arranged in a matrix; and a control circuitwhich controls the potentials of said plurality of word lines and saidplurality of bit lines, wherein, in an erase operation, the controlcircuit erases said plurality of memory cells connected to n word linesof the plurality of word lines simultaneously and then performs a writeoperation on said plurality of memory cells connected to the n wordlines simultaneously, and carries out a verify operation to determinewhether the threshold voltage of a memory cell selected by a specificword line of the n word lines has reached a threshold level using afirst verify level.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a semiconductor memory device appliedto each embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of an example of the memory cell array andbit line control circuit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of another example of the memory cell arrayand bit line control circuit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a sectional view of a memory cell and FIG. 4B is a sectionalview of a select gate;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the memory cell array and peripheralcircuit;

FIG. 6 is a table listing an example of voltages supplied to variousparts shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an example of the data storage circuitshown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 8 shows an example of the threshold voltages of a memory cell afterdata has been written;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart to explain an example of a read operation;

FIG. 10 is a timing chart to explain an example of a read operation;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart to explain an example of a program (write)operation;

FIG. 12 is a timing chart to explain an example of a program operation;

FIG. 13 shows changes in the threshold voltage of a memory cell in anerase operation;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart to explain an example of an erase operation;

FIG. 15 is a timing chart to explain an example of an erase operation;

FIG. 16 is a timing chart to explain a source-follower verify operation;

FIG. 17 is a diagram to explain an Erased Area Self Boost (EASB) method;

FIG. 18 shows a verify level in a soft program operation;

FIGS. 19A, 19B, and 19C show changes in the threshold voltage of amemory cell in a weak erase operation;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart to explain a weak erase operation according to afirst embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21A shows the relationship between an erase voltage and an eraseverify voltage in a weak erase operation and FIG. 21B shows therelationship between an erase voltage and an erase verify voltage in anormal erase operation;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart to explain a weak erase operation according to asecond embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart to explain a weak erase operation according to athird embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 24 shows the relationship between potentials in a verify operationin the second embodiment;

FIG. 25 shows the relationship between potentials in a verify operationin the second embodiment;

FIG. 26 shows the relationship between the gage voltage and the currentin a verify operation in the second embodiment;

FIG. 27 shows the potential of a word line in a read operation and averify read operation;

FIG. 28 shows the potential of a word line in a verify read operation;

FIG. 29 shows the potential of a word line when a verify operation isomitted;

FIG. 30 illustrates a modification of FIG. 29 and shows the potential ofa word line in case a verify operation is omitted;

FIG. 31 is a circuit diagram of examples of the memory cell array androw decoder shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 32 shows the potential of each portion in case an erase operationis performed for a dummy cell;

FIG. 33 shows the potentials of word lines WLDD and WLDS of dummy cellsin an erase operation;

FIG. 34 shows the potential of a signal supplied to the gate of atransistor used for selecting a row decoder of a selected block;

FIG. 35 shows a potential supplied to the gate of a transistor used forselecting a row decoder of a selected block; and

FIG. 36 shows a potential supplied to the word lines adjacent to dummyword lines WLDD and WLDS.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, referring to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of theinvention will be explained.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a semiconductor memory device, such as aNAND flash memory capable of storing 4 levels (2 bits), applied to eachembodiment of the invention.

A memory cell array 1 includes a plurality of bit lines, a plurality ofword lines, and a common source line. In the memory cell array 1,electrically rewritable memory cells made up of, for example, EEPROMcells are arranged in a matrix. A bit line control circuit 2 forcontrolling bit lines and a word line control circuit 6 are connected tothe memory cell array 1.

The bit line control circuit 2 reads the data in a memory cell of thememory cell array 1 via a bit line, detects the state of a memory cellof the memory cell array 1 via a bit line, and writes data to a memorycell of the memory cell array 1 by applying a write control voltage tothe memory cell via a bit line. A column decoder 3 and a datainput/output buffer 4 are connected to the bit line control circuit 2. Adata storage circuit in the bit line control circuit 2 is selected bythe column decoder 3. The data in the memory cell read into the datastorage circuit is output via the data input/output buffer 4 at a datainput/output terminal 5 to the outside. The data input/output terminal 5is connected to, for example, a host (not shown) outside the memorychip. The host, which is composed of, for example, a microcomputer,receives the data output from the data input/output terminal 5. The hostoutputs various commands CMD for controlling the operation of the NANDflash memory, addresses ADD, and data DT. The write data input to thedata input/output terminal 5 from the host is supplied via the datainput/output buffer 4 to the data storage circuit selected by the columndecoder 3. The commands and addresses are supplied to a control signaland control voltage generator circuit 7.

The word line control circuit 6 is connected to the memory cell array 1.The word line control circuit 6 selects a word line in the memory cellarray 1 and applies to the selected word line a voltage necessary for aread, write, or erase operation.

The memory cell array 1, bit line control circuit 2, column decoder 3,data input/output buffer 4, and word line control circuit 6 areconnected to and controlled by the control signal and control voltagegenerator circuit 7. The control signal and control voltage generatorcircuit 7 is connected to a control signal input terminal 8 and iscontrolled by Address Latch Enable (ALE), Command Latch Enable (CLE),Write Enable (WE), and Read Enable (RE) control signals input from thehost via the control signal input terminal 8.

The bit line control circuit 2, column decoder 3, word line controlcircuit 6, and control signal and control voltage generator circuit 7constitute a write circuit and a read circuit.

A counter 9 is connected to the output end of the bit line controlcircuit 2. The counter 9 is for counting the number of memory cells noterased from in an erase operation as described later. The output signalof the counter 9 is supplied to the control signal and control voltagegenerator circuit 7. The control signal and control voltage generatorcircuit 7 varies an erase voltage according to the output of the counter9.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the memory cell array 1 and bit linecontrol circuit 2 shown in FIG. 1. In the memory cell array 1, aplurality of NAND cells are arranged. A NAND cell is composed of, forexample, a memory cell MC made up of, for example, 32 EEPROMs connectedin series and select gates S1, S2. Select gate S2 is connected to bitline BL0 e and select gate S1 is connected to a source line SRC. Thecontrol gates of the memory cells MC arranged in each row are connectedequally to word lines WL0 to WL29, WL30, WL31. Select gates S2 areconnected equally to select line SGD. Select gates S1 are connectedequally to select line SGS.

The bit line control circuit 2 has a plurality of data storage circuits10. Bit line pairs (BL0 e, BL0 o), (BL1 e, BL1 o), . . . , (BLie, BLio),(BL8 ke, BL8 ko) are connected to the individual data storage circuits10 in a one-to-one correspondence.

The memory cell array 1 includes a plurality of blocks as shown by abroken line. Each block is composed of a plurality of NAND cells. In thememory cell array 1, data is erased in, for example, blocks. An eraseoperation is performed simultaneously on the two bit lines connected tothe data storage circuit 10.

A plurality of memory cells which are arranged every other bit line andare connected to a single word line (or the memory cells enclosed by abroken line) constitute one segment. Data is written or read insegments.

In a read operation, a program verify operation, and a programoperation, one of the two bit lines (BLie, BLio) connected to the datastorage circuit 10 is selected according to the address signals (YA0,YA1, . . . , YAi, . . . , YA8 k) externally supplied. Moreover,according to an external address, a single word line is selected.

Furthermore, a single word line is selected according to an externaladdress, with the result that two pages enclosed by a dotted line inFIG. 2 are selected. Switching between two pages is done by an address.When 2 bits are stored in one cell, two pages are selected; when 3 bitsare stored in one cell, three pages are selected; and when 4 bits arestored in one cell, four pages are selected. An erase operation iscarried out using a block unit shown by the dotted line in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration when all the cell arranged in the rowdirection are written to simultaneously. In this case, the individualbit lines BL0, BL1, . . . , BL8 k-1, BL8 k are connected to the datastorage circuits 10 in a one-to-one correspondence. Address signals YA0,YA1, . . . , YA8 k-1, YA8 k are supplied to the individual data storagecircuits 10 in a one-to-one correspondence.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a sectional view of a memory cell and that of aselect gate, respectively. In FIG. 4A, an n-type diffused layer 42acting as the source and drain of a memory cell is formed in a substrate51 (or a p-well region 55 described later). Above the p-well region 55,a floating gate (FG) 44 is formed via a gate insulating film 43. Abovethe floating gate 44, a control gate (CG) 46 is formed via an insulatingfilm 45. In FIG. 4B, an n-type diffused layer 47 acting as a source anda drain is formed in the p-well region 55. Above the p-well well region55, a control gate 49 is formed via a gate insulating film 48.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a semiconductor memory device according tothe first embodiment. For example, in a p-type semiconductor substrate51, n-well regions 52, 53, 54 and a p-well region 56 are formed. In then-well region 52, the p-well region 55 is formed. In the p-well region55, low-voltage n-channel transistors LVNTr constituting the memory cellarray 1 are formed. In the n-well region 53 and p-well region 56, alow-voltage p-channel transistor LVPTr and a low-voltage n-channeltransistor LVNTr constituting a data storage circuit 10 are formedrespectively. In the substrate 51, a high-voltage n-channel transistorHVNTr connecting a bit line and the data storage circuit 10 is formed.In the n-well region 54, a high-voltage p-channel transistor HVPTrconstituting, for example, a word-line driving circuit or the like isformed. As shown in FIG. 5, the high-voltage transistors HVNTr, HVPTrhave, for example, a thicker gate insulating film than that of thelow-voltage transistors LVNTr, LVPTr.

FIG. 6 is a table listing examples of the voltages supplied to variousregions in FIG. 5 in erasing, programming, and reading a memory cell.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an example of the data storage circuit 10shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The data storage circuit 10 includes a primary data cache (PDC), asecondary data cache (SDC), a dynamic data cache (DDC0), a dynamic datacache Q (DDC1), and a temporary data cache (TDC). The SDC, PDC, and DDC0hold input data in a write operation, hold read data in a readoperation, temporarily hold data in a verify operation, and are used tomanipulate internal data in storing multilevel data. The TDC not onlyamplifies data on a bit line in reading data and temporarily holds thedata, but also is used to manipulate internal data in storing multileveldata.

The SDC is composed of clocked inverter circuits 61 a, 61 b constitutinga latch circuit and transistors 61 c, 61 d. The transistor 61 c isconnected between the input end of the clocked inverter circuit 61 a andthe input end of the clocked inverter circuit 61 b. A signal EQ2 issupplied to the gate of the transistor 61 c. The transistor 61 d isconnected between the output end of the clocked inverter circuit 61 band the ground. A signal PRST is supplied to the gate of the transistor61 d. Node N2 a of the SDC is connected via a column select transistor61 e to an input/output data line IO. Node N2 b of the SDC is connectedvia a column select transistor 61 f to an input/output data line IOn. Acolumn select signal CSLi is supplied to the gates of the transistors 61e, 61 f. Node N2 a of the SDC is connected to node N1 a of the PDC viatransistors 61 g, 61 h. A signal BLC2 is supplied to the gate of thetransistor 61 g. A signal BLC1 is supplied to the gate of the transistor61 h.

The PDC is composed of clocked inverter circuits 61 i, 61 j and atransistor 61 k. The transistor 61 k is connected between the input endof the clocked inverter circuit 61 i and the input end of the clockedinverter circuit 61 j. A signal EQ1 is supplied to the gate of thetransistor 61 k. Node N1 b of the PDC is connected to the gate of thetransistor 61 l. One end of the current path of the transistor 61 l isconnected to the ground via a transistor 61 m. A signal CHK1 is suppliedto the gate of the transistor 61 m. The other end of the current path ofthe transistor 61 l is connected to one end of the current path oftransistors 61 n, 61 o constituting a transfer gate. A signal CHK2 n issupplied to the gate of the transistor 61 n. The gate of the transistor61 o is connected to the output end of the clocked inverter circuit 61a. The other end of the current path of the transistors 61 n, 61 o isconnected to a wiring line COMi. The wiring line COMi is connectedequally to all of the data storage circuits 10. When the verification ofall the data storage circuits 10 has been completed, the potential ofthe wiring line COMi goes high. Specifically, as described later, if theverification has been completed, node Nib of the PDC goes low. In thisstate, when the signals CHK1, CHK2 n are made high, if the verificationhas been completed, the wiring line COMi goes high.

Furthermore, the TDC is composed of, for example, a MOS capacitor 61 p.One end of the capacitor 61 p is connected to a junction node N3 of thetransistors 61 g, 61 h. A signal BOOST is supplied to the other end ofthe capacitor 61 p. The DDC0 is supplied via a transistor 61 q to thejunction node N3. A signal REG0 is supplied to the gate of thetransistor 61 q.

The DDC0 is composed of transistors 61 r, 61 s. A signal VREG issupplied to one end of the current path of the transistor 61 r. Theother end of the transistor 61 r is connected to the current path of thetransistor 61 q. The gate of the transistor 61 r is connected to node N1a of the PDC via a transistor 61 s. A signal DTG0 is supplied to thegate of the transistor 61 s.

The DDC1 is composed of transistors 61Qr, 61Qs. A signal VREG issupplied to one end of the current path of a transistor 61Qr. The otherend of the current path of the transistor 61Qr is connected to ajunction node N3 via the transistor 61Qq. A signal REG1 is supplied tothe gate of the transistor 61Qq. The gate of the transistor 610Qr isconnected to node N1 a of the PDC via the transistor 610Qs. A signalDTG1 is supplied to the gate of the transistor 61Qs.

Furthermore, one end of the current path of each of transistors 61 t, 61u is connected to the junction node N3. A signal VPRE is supplied to theother end of the current path of the transistor 61 u. A signal BLPRE issupplied to the gate of the transistor 61 u. A signal BLCLAMP issupplied to the gate of a transistor 61 t. The other end of the currentpath of the transistor 61 t is connected not only via a transistor 61 vto one end of bit line BLo but also via a transistor 61 w to one end ofbit line BLe. The other end of bit line BLo is connected to one end ofthe current path of a transistor 61 x. A signal BIASo is supplied to thegate of the transistor 61 x. The other end of bit line BLe is connectedto one end of the current path of a transistor 61 y. A signal BIASe issupplied to the gate of the transistor 61 y. A signal BLCRL is suppliedto the other ends of the current paths of these transistors 61 x, 61 y.The transistors 61 x, 61 y are turned on according to signals BIASo,BIASe so as to be complementary to the transistors 61 v, 61 w, therebysupplying the potential of the signal BLCRL to the unselected bit lines.

The above-described signals and voltages are generated by the controlsignal and control voltage generator circuit 7 of FIG. 1. The operationsbelow are controlled by the control signal and control voltage generatorcircuit 7.

The data storage circuit 10 of FIG. 3 has the same configuration as thatof FIG. 7, except for the connection with the bit lines. Specifically,as shown in FIG. 7, for example, only the transistor 61 v is connectedto the other end of the transistor 61 t, which is connected to bit lineBLe or BLo via the transistor 61 v.

The memory, which is a multilevel memory, can store 2 bits of data in acell. Switching between 2 bits is done using an address (first page,second page). When 2 bits are stored in a single cell, there are twopages. When 3 bits are stored in a single cell, switching between 3 bitsis done using an address (first page, second page, third page). When 4bits are stored in a single cell, switching is done using an address(first page, second page, third page, fourth page).

FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the data in a memory cell and thethreshold voltages of the memory cell. Hereinafter, a case where fourlevels, or two bits, are stored in a cell will be explained. After anerase operation is carried out, the data in the memory cell is “0.” Whena first page and a second page have been written to, the data in thememory cell become data “0,” “1,” “2,” and “3.” In the embodiments, thedata in the memory cell is defined in ascending order of thresholdvoltage.

(Read Operation)

As shown in FIG. 8, after data is written, the data in the memory cellis any one of “0,” “1,” “2,” and “3.” Therefore, the data can be read bycarrying out a read operation at level “a,” level “b,” and level “c”.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a read sequence. First, reading is done at readlevel “a” (S11). Thereafter, reading is done at read level “b” (S12). Inaddition, reading is done at read level “c” (S13). By these operations,2 bits of data can be read from the cell.

FIG. 10 shows operating waveforms in a read operation and a read verifyoperation. Using FIG. 10, a read operation will be explained. First, atthe same time that the well of the selected cell, the source line, andthe unselected bit lines are set to voltage Vx, potential “a,” “b,” or“c” (e.g., “a”=0V) in a read operation is supplied to the selected wordline, Vread+Vx is supplied to the unselected word lines of the selectedblock, Vsg(Vdd+Vth)+Vx is supplied to the select line SGD of theselected block, and Vss is supplied to the select line SGS. Here, Vdd isa power supply voltage, Vth is the threshold voltage of an n-channel MOStransistor, and Vx is a specific voltage. In the data storage circuit ofFIG. 7, Vdd (e.g., 2.5V) is applied temporarily to Vpre, Vsg (=Vdd+Vth)to BLPRE, and a voltage of, for example, (0.6V+Vth+Vth) to signalBLCLAMP, thereby recharging the bit line to, for example (0.6V+Vx).Next, the select line SGS on the source side of the cell is set toVdd+Vx. If the threshold voltage of the memory cell is higher than “a”,“b,” or “c” (e.g., “a”=0V), the cell goes off. Therefore, the bit lineremains high (e.g., 1.6V). If the threshold voltage of the memory cellis lower than “a”, “b,” or “c”, the cell goes on. Accordingly, the bitline is discharged and has the same potential as the source line, thatis, the ground potential Vx.

Here, after signal BLPRE in the data storage circuit 10 of FIG. 7 is settemporarily to Vsg (=Vdd+Vth) and node N3 of the TDC is precharged to apower supply voltage Vdd, signal BOOST is changed from the groundpotential Vss to Vdd, which sets node N3 of the TDC to 2 Vdd. Next, forexample, a voltage of (0.45V+Vth+Vx) is applied to signal BLCLAMP. Ifthe potential of the bit line is lower than 0.45V+Vx, node N3 of the TDCgoes low. If the potential of the bit line is higher than 0.45V+Vx, nodeN3 of the TDC remains high. After BLCLAMP is set to VSS to turn offtransistor 61 t, signal BOOST is changed from Vdd to Vss and then signalBLC1 is set to Vsg (=Vdd+Vth), thereby reading the potential of the TDCinto the PDC. If the threshold voltage of the cell is lower than level“a,” level “b,” and level “c,” the PDC goes low. If the thresholdvoltage of the cell is higher than level “a,” level “b,” and level “c,”the PDC goes high and the data in the PDC is read.

(Program and Program Verify)

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a program operation. In a program operation,first, an address is specified and, for example, a second page shown inFIG. 3 is selected. In this memory, a first page and a second page arewritten to simultaneously. First-page data to be written is externallyinput and stored in the SDCs of all the data storage circuits 10 (S21).Thereafter, when a transfer command is input, the data in the SDCs ofall the data storage circuits 10 is transferred to the PDCs (S22).Similarly, second-page data is externally input and stored in the SDCsof all the data storage circuits 10. Thereafter, data manipulation isperformed and data is set in the SDC, PDC, and DDC0 (S23). Then, aprogram operation is carried out.

(Program Operation) (S24).

FIG. 12 shows waveforms in a program operation. First, when signal BLC1of the data storage circuit 10 of FIG. 7 is at Vdd+Vth, if the PDC hasstored data “1” (no writing is done), the bit line goes to Vdd. If thePDC has stored data “0” (writing is done), the bit line goes to Vss.Furthermore, the cells which are connected to the selected word line andare on the unselected page (or whose bit lines are unselected) must notbe written to. For this reason, the bit lines connected to those cellsare also set to Vdd as when data “1” is stored.

Here, the select line SGD of the selected block is set at Vdd, programvoltage VPGM (20V) is applied to the selected word line, and VPASS (10V)is applied to the unselected word lines. If the bit line is at Vss, thechannel of the cell is at Vss and the word line is at VPGM, which causeswriting to be done. If the bit line is at Vdd, the channel of the cellis not at Vss, but at about VPGM/2 by coupling, which prevents the cellfrom being programmed. After programming is done this way, the data inthe memory cell is any one of “0,” “₁,” “2,” and “3.”

(Program Verify)

A program verify operation carried out after writing is the same as aread operation. In this case, however, slightly higher potentials a′,b′, and c′ than the potentials a, b, and c, respectively, in a readoperation are supplied to the selected word line as shown in FIG. 8,thereby reading the data in the memory cell (S25, S26, S27).Hereinafter, “′” indicates a verify potential, which is slightly higherthan the read potential. For example, if a=0V, then, a′=0.5V. As aresult of a program verify operation, if the threshold voltage of thememory cell has reached a target threshold level, the PDC is set to “1”and is unselected in the next write operation (S28). As a result of aprogram verify operation, if the threshold voltage of the memory cellhas not reached the target threshold level, the program voltage isslightly raised and programming is done again (S28, S29, S24). Suchoperations are repeated until all of the cells have been verified.

FIG. 27 shows the waveforms of a selected word line and an unselectedword line are when potentials a′, b′, and c′ (a, b and c) aresequentially applied to the selected word line at the time of a readoperation and a verify read operation. A cell for which a writeoperation is performed to have “a” level has a low threshold value, andthe write operation for that cell is completed in a short time. Whenthere is no cell for which a write operation should be performed to have“a” level, a verify operation need not be performed at “a” level. Inthis case, therefore, the verify operation at the “a” level is notperformed, and a verify operation is performed at “b” and “c” levels.

FIG. 28 shows the waveforms of a selected word line and an unselectedword line are when potentials b′and c′ are sequentially applied to theselected word line in a verify read operation. Since the unselected wordline is raised to Vread, b′ level shown in FIG. 28 is subject to thecoupling between word lines, and is higher than “b′” level shown in FIG.27. Therefore, where the verify operation is omitted, a sufficientlylong time is needed for the selected word line to become stable afterthe unselected word line is in the state of Vread as shown in FIG. 29.

FIG. 30 shows a modification of FIG. 29. As shown in FIG. 30, a selectedword line can be temporarily set at a previous level (“a” level). Beforethe time when the verify operation is omitted, “a” level will be raiseddue to the coupling between word lines. However, “a” level will beraised likewise at the time of a read operation as well, due to thecoupling between words lines. In practice, therefore, there is noproblem.

(Erase Operation)

An erase operation is carried out in units of a block shown by a dottedline in FIG. 3. After the erase operation, the threshold voltage of thememory cell is eventually data “0” as shown in FIG. 13. However, thecharacteristic of the memory cell is nonuniform. Moreover, its erasecharacteristic differs according to the threshold voltage correspondingto the data stored in the memory cell before the erasure. Therefore,after the erase operation, an erase verify operation is carried out.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an erase operation. FIG. 15 shows waveforms inan erase operation. An erase operation is performed simultaneously onall the cells in the selected block. First, an erase voltage Vera isapplied to the well of the selected block and the ground potential Vssis applied to all the word lines in the selected block, thereby carryingout an erase operation (S32). Next, an erase verify operation isperformed (S33). The erase verify operation is performed simultaneouslyon all the cells in the selected block by, for example, asource-follower method. As a result, if the threshold voltages of allthe memory cells have not reached the threshold voltage of data “0,”that is, if the verification has not been passed, the erase voltage isstepped up (S34, S35) and the erase operation is repeated.

If the verification has been passed, a soft program operation (S36) forraising the threshold voltage slightly and a soft program verifyoperation (S37) are performed on the over-erased cells. As a result, ifall of the NAND strings have not passed the verification, the eraseoperation is carried out again (S38, S32). If all the NAND strings havepassed the verification, the erase operation is terminated. When thesoft program operation is unnecessary, the soft program operation (S36),soft program verity operation (S37), and decision operation (S38) areomitted.

While an erase verify operation has been performed on all the memorycells in step 34 of FIG. 14 and on all the NAND strings in steps S36 d,38, the invention is not limited to this. For instance, a specifiedvalue may be used to determine whether the number of memory cells orNAND strings which have failed to pass the verification is equal to orsmaller than the specified value.

Here, the source-follower erase verify operation will be explained.

FIG. 16 is a timing chart of the source-follower erase verify operation.In the erase verify operation, all the cells connected to aneven-numbered bit line in the selected block are verifiedsimultaneously. Thereafter, all the cells connected to an odd-numberedbit line in the selected block are verified simultaneously. That is,first, a specific voltage is applied to the word line, an even-numberedselected bit line in the selected block is set to Vss, and anodd-numbered selected bit line is set to Vdd. In parallel with this, thesource is set to Vdd and the select gate SGS on the source side isturned on.

Then, if, for example, the voltage of the word line is 0V and thethreshold voltages of the cells in the NAND string are −2V, −1.5V,−0.5V, and −1V (actually, a NAND string includes 32 cells or 64 cells),the voltage of the selected bit line is Vg −Vth. Thus, it follows that0V−(−0.5V (the threshold voltage of a cell whose threshold voltage isshallowest))=0.5V. Here, after node N3 of the TDC of FIG. 7 isprecharged to Vdd, signal BOOST is changed from Vss to Vdd and node N3of the TDC is set to 2 Vdd and then signal BLCLAMP is set to, forexample, 0.8V+Vth. Since the voltage of the bit line is at 0.5V, node N3of the TDC is low. Thereafter, signal BOOST is changed from Vdd to Vssand signal BLC1 is made high, which latches node N3 of the TDC low.

On the other hand, if the threshold voltages of the cells in the NANDstring are −2V, −1.5V, −1V, and −1.1V, the voltage of the bit line isVg−Vth=0V−(−1V (the threshold voltage of a cell whose threshold voltageis shallowest))=1.0V. Here, after node N3 of the TDC is precharged toVdd, signal BOOST is changed from Vss to Vdd and the TDC is set to 2 Vddand then signal BLCLAMP is set to, for example, 0.8V+Vth. Since thevoltage of the bit line is 1V, node N3 of the TDC is high. Thereafter,signal BOOST is changed from Vdd to Vss and signal BLC1 is made high,which latches node N3 of the TDC high. That is, if the threshold voltageof the cell is equal to or lower than −0.8V, node N3 of the TDC goeshigh. If the threshold voltage of the cell is higher than −0.8V, node N3of the TDC goes low.

Thereafter, the memory cells connected an odd-numbered bit line areverified as the memory cells connected to an even-numbered bit line are.Thereafter, the result of the verification of the memory cells connectedto the even-numbered bit line is added to that of the memory cellsconnected to the odd-numbered bit line. Then, all the cells in theselected block are caused to reach an erase verify level. As a result ofthis, if all the cells have not reached the erase verify level, theerase voltage is raised again and the erase operation is carried out.

Thereafter, the soft program operation is carried out and weak writingis performed so as to prevent the threshold voltage after erasure frombecoming too deep. When an Erased Area Self Boost (EASB) write system isused as shown in FIG. 17, the soft program operation has the followingproblem. In the EASB write system, writing is performed, beginning withthe cell on the source line side. For example, the erase level of a cellwhose word line is set to Vss is too deep, the cell does not go off. Forthis reason, when data “1” is written to a cell (in a non-writeoperation), the part directly below the cell to whose word line aprogram voltage Vpgm is applied is booted, which makes it impossible toperform a non-write operation. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 14, afterthe erase operation, all the word lines are selected and a soft programoperation is carried out (S36). Thereafter, all the NAND strings aresubjected to a soft program verify operation (S37). The soft programverify operation is identical with an erase verify operation (S33).However, the soft program verify level, which is shallower than an eraseverify level of −0.8V, is, for example, −0.5V. Accordingly, the voltageof the word line is set to 0.3V or signal BLCLAMP is set to 0.5V.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 18, in a soft program verify operation,when a cell whose threshold voltage after erasure is the shallowest inthe NAND string has exceeded soft program verify level 1, the next softprogram is prevented from being written to the cell. In this way,writing is done in such a manner that the cells in all the NAND stringsexceed the soft program verify level. Thereafter, the soft programverify level is raised slightly and a check is made to see if all of thecells are at a level equal to or lower than the slightly raised softprogram verify level 2. As a result, if they are not at a level equal toor lower than the slightly raised soft program verify level 2, the eraseoperation is carried out again. Even if the soft program operation isnot carried out during the erase operation, level “0” may be writtenduring the program operation. When the soft program operation isunnecessary, of course, it may be omitted.

First Embodiment

When a NAND flash memory is erased and written to repeatedly, it becomesmore difficult to erase. Therefore, the erase voltage has to be raised.Accordingly, before shipment, the erase voltage has to be raised to someextent so that erasing may be performed even after erasing and writinghave been done a certain number of times. However, if the erase voltageis high, the following problem arises: a stress is applied on the cell,which accelerates the deterioration of the cell.

To overcome this problem, a first embodiment of the invention performserasing at an erase voltage lower than a normal one and then reads thedata from the NAND strings in a block simultaneously in an erase verifyoperation and counts the number of unerased memory cells. According tothe counted number of unerased cells, the next erase voltage is set.Using the set erase voltage, an erase operation is carried out.

FIG. 19 shows the transition of a threshold voltage distribution in thefirst embodiment. In the state shown in FIG. 19A, when a weak eraseoperation is carried out at an erase voltage lower than a normal one,there is a cell which has not been erased sufficiently. Then, the numberof memory cells which have exceeded a weak erase verify level is countedand the next erase voltage is determined according to the countednumber. Erasing is done at the determined erase voltage, thereby settingthe threshold voltage distribution of the memory cell below the eraseverify level as shown in FIG. 19C.

FIG. 20 shows an erase sequence according to the first embodiment. InFIG. 20, the same parts as those in the erase sequence of FIG. 14 areindicated by the same reference numerals.

In the first embodiment, first, weak erasing is done using a first erasevoltage lower than a normal one (S41). The first erase voltage is setto, for example, 20V, whereas a conventional erase voltage is, forexample, 22V. The first erase voltage is not restricted to 20V and maybe set to another voltage. Thereafter, a weak erase verify operation iscarried out (S42). In the weak erase verify operation, which is the sameas the erase verify operation shown in FIG. 14, the level of the wordline or the level of signal BLCLAMP is changed and a determination ismade at a first verify level (a weak erase level) higher than the eraseverify level. Next, the number of NAND strings including memory cellshigher than the first verify level is counted (S43). Specifically, as aresult of the above-described simultaneous verify operation, high islatched in the PDC of the data storage circuit 10 connected to a NANDstring including memory cells whose threshold voltage is higher than thefirst verify level. The data in the PDC is supplied to the counter 9 ofFIG. 1 via the SDC, data lines IO, Ion, or wiring line COMi and iscounted (S43). The counted value of the counter 9 is supplied to thecontrol signal and control voltage generator circuit 7. The controlsignal and control voltage generator circuit 7 sets an erase voltageused for the next erase operation according to the output signal of thecounter 9 (S44). For example, if the counted value is larger than aspecified value, there are many memory cells erased insufficiently. Inthis case, the step width of the erase voltage is set greater and theerase voltage is set higher. Thereafter, in the same manner as explainedin FIG. 14, an erase operation (S32), an erase verify operation (S33),and a soft program operation (S36) are executed. If a soft programoperation is unnecessary, it may be omitted.

In the first embodiment, after weak erasing is performed at the firsterase voltage lower than a normal one, a verify operation is carried outat the first erase verify voltage higher than a normal erase verifylevel, the number of NAND strings failing to pass the verify operationis counted, and the next erase voltage is set according to the countedvalue. Accordingly, in erase operations after this, the number of timesan erase pulse is applied to the memory cells can be reduced, whichenables not only the erase time to be shortened but also stress appliedto the memory cells to be reduced. Furthermore, in the early stage oferasure, a suitable erase voltage can be set, which enables the accuracyof erasure to be improved.

As shown in FIG. 19A, when there are many memory cells whose thresholddistribution before erasure is “O” or when all the memory cell are at“0,” if a weak erase verify operation is carried out after weak erasingis done, the number of cells whose threshold level is higher than thatlevel is very small or zero. In this case, an erase operation is notcarried out and an erase verify operation is carried out. Normally,however, a host composed of a microcomputer connected outside the chipof the NAND flash memory has known whether erasing has been done.Accordingly, erasing an erased cell frequently causes no problem.Moreover, even when all the data items are at “0,” this frequentlycauses no problem because the host outside the chip performs randomizingso that all the data items may not become the same. In addition, thehosts outside the chip are randomized in many cases so as to avoid thesituation where all data are the same. Since the state where all dataare “0” is rare, such a state does not become a problem in practice.

FIG. 21 shows the relationship between erase voltages and verifyvoltages are in the first embodiment. FIG. 21A relates to the firstembodiment and FIG. 21B shows the erase operation shown in FIG. 14. Inthe first embodiment, a second erase voltage is set on the basis of thefirst erase voltage, a weak erase verify operation using the first eraseverify level, and the result of the weak erase verify operation.Accordingly, the voltages of the second and later erase pulses can beset properly. Therefore, the number of times an erase operation isrepeated can be reduced as compared with ordinary erasure shown in FIG.21B.

As shown by a broken line in FIG. 20, when the verification is notpassed in step S34, the number of insufficiently erased memory cells maybe counted and, on the basis of the counted value, the erase voltage maybe changed. In addition, the number of bits may be counted immediatelyafter the erase verify operation S33.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 22 shows an erase sequence according to a second embodiment of theinvention. In FIG. 22, the same parts as those of FIG. 22 are indicatedby the same reference numerals.

In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 14 or FIG. 20, all the NANDstrings are verified simultaneously by the source-follower method ofFIG. 16 in the weak erase verify operation, erase verify operation, softprogram verify operation 1, and soft program verify operation 2.However, the source-follower read operation is low in accuracy becauseit is different from a normal read operation and a program verify readoperation. Moreover, in an erase operation, all the cells in a block areerased and therefore most of the cells must have been erased similarly.In addition, in a soft program operation after erasure, all the cells ina block are written to simultaneously and therefore most of the cellsmust have been written to similarly. Accordingly, in the secondembodiment, only specific word lines in a block are verified after weakerasure using a normal read operation and a program verify readoperation.

One or more word lines are put in the selected state and the other wordlines are put in the unselected state. In this state, reading may bedone in a source follower method by applying a voltage higher than thatapplied to the selected word line.

For example, in FIG. 22, first, weak erasing is performed using a lowerase voltage as in the first embodiment (S41). Thereafter, a weak eraseverify operation is carried out (S51). The weak erase verify operationis performed on, for example, a specific single word line or multipleword lines by the source-follower method or in the same manner as theabove-described ordinary read operation and program verify readoperation. In this case, however, the first verify level is used. Whenthe position of a cell to be erased later is known in advance from, forexample, the layout, the word line which selects the cell is used as thespecific word line.

Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, the number of memory cellshigher than the weak erase verify level read into the data storagecircuit 10 is counted by the counter 9 (S43). Since the erase voltage islow, the number of memory cells whose threshold voltage is higher thanthe weak erase verify level is considerably large. According to thecounted value, the control signal and control voltage generator circuit7 sets the next erase voltage (S44). Using the set erase voltage, anerase operation is carried out again (S32).

Thereafter, an erase verify operation and a soft program operation arecarried out as in the first embodiment. If the soft program operation isunnecessary, it may be omitted.

In the weak erase verify operation, erase verify operation, and softprogram verify operation, the number of word lines is not limited toone. Multiple word lines may be selected at the same time and verifyreading may be performed. In addition, one or more word lines may bescanned sequentially and verify reading be done. Then, the read resultsmay be summed. Because of this summing operation, a verify operation canbe performed reliably for cells in a selected block.

FIG. 24 shows the relationship between the potential of the word lineand that of the floating gate in a normal read operation and a programverify read operation when one or more word lines are selected and averify operation is carried out. In FIG. 24, since the word line of acell adjacent to the selected cell is as high as Vread+Vfix (e.g.,7V+1.6V), the floating gate of the selected cell enclosed by a brokenline is at, for example, about 1.2V through coupling even when theselected word line is at 0V, for example. In the weak erase verify,erase verify, and soft program verify operations, the threshold voltageof the cell is low. Therefore, as high a voltage as Vread+Vfix (e.g.,7V+1.6V) need not be applied to the word lines (WLs) of the unselectedcells.

As shown in FIG. 25, the word line of a cell adjacent to the selectedcell is set to a voltage VCGRV2, for example, 0V. Then, the floatinggate of the selected cell is at a lower voltage than in FIG. 24, forexample, at 0.1V. In this state, the word line of the selected cell isset to VCGRV (e.g., 0V) and a verify operation is carried out.

FIG. 26 shows the relationships between the gate voltage and gatecurrent of a memory cell. Electrons accumulated in a floating gate causea change in the characteristics of a memory cell, and a gate voltagethat causes a current of 0.1 μA to flow through a memory cell is definedas a threshold voltage. Characteristic A in FIG. 26 shows a case where averify operation is carried out at the voltage shown in FIG. 25. Theverify operation for the memory cell is completed according tocharacteristic A shown in FIG. 26. In contrast, in a normal readoperation and a program verify read operation, the potential of the wordline of a cell adjacent to the selected cell is as high as Vread+Vfix(e.g., 7V+1.6V) as shown in FIG. 24. Even if the verify operation iscompleted according to characteristic A shown in FIG. 26, the change ofthe read method results in characteristic B shown in FIG. 26.Accordingly, lowering the level of the word line of a cell adjacent tothe selected cell enables a verify operation to be performed at a lowerthreshold value.

Furthermore, when data is read from a cell adjacent to select gate S1 orS2 shown in FIG. 2 (the cell connected to word line WL0, WL31), thevoltage of select line SGS or SGD cannot be lowered. A cell adjacent toselect gate S1 or S2 sometimes has a poor characteristic. For thisreason, in recent products, a cell adjacent to select gate S1 or S2 isused not as a cell for storing actual data but as a dummy and thereforethere is no problem.

Moreover, when all the word lines are selected one by one and reading isdone, an erase voltage is applied to a word line on which there areinsufficiently erased cells the number of which is equal to or largerthan a specified value after the erase verify operation, whereas anon-erase voltage is applied to a word line on which there areinsufficiently erased cells the number of which is less than thespecified value. With the erase or non-erase voltage being applied thisway, an erase operation is carried out again. Erasing may be performedby repeating those operations.

In addition, when all the word lines are selected one by one and readingis done, a writing voltage is applied to a word line on which there areinsufficiently soft-programmed cells the number of which is equal to orlarger than a specified value after the soft program operation, whereasa non-writing voltage is applied to a word line on which there areinsufficiently soft-programmed cells the number of which is less thanthe specified value. With the writing or non-writing voltage beingapplied this way, a soft program operation is carried out again. Softprogramming may be performed by repeating those operations.

In the second embodiment, after weak erasing is performed, the weakerase verify, erase verify, and soft program verify operations arecarried out as in a normal read operation or a verify read operation.Therefore, the data in a memory cell can be read at high accuracy, whichenables the number of insufficiently erased cells to be countedaccurately. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately set an erasevoltage for the next erasure. This enables the number of times an erasepulse is applied to be reduced further, which helps shorten the erasetime and alleviate stress on the memory cells.

In the case where the weak erase verify operation shown in FIG. 14 isnot performed, normal reading or source-follower reading may beperformed, with one or more word lines being put in the selected states.Furthermore, with one or more word lines being put in the selectedstate, a sequential scan and a verify reading operation may be carriedout, and reading results may be summed. By performing this summing, averify operation can be carried out reliably for cells within a selectedblock.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 23 shows an erase sequence according to a third embodiment of theinvention. In the third embodiment, the same parts as those in thesecond embodiment are indicated by the same reference numerals. In thesecond embodiment, after weak erasing is done using a low erase voltage,only specific word lines in a block are subjected to a weak verifyoperation using a normal read operation and a program verify readoperation. The number of cells higher than the weak erase verify levelis counted. According to the counted value, an erase voltage is set andthe next erase operation is carried out.

In contrast, in the third embodiment, reading is done a plurality oftimes, while changing the weak erase verify level gradually. Then, thecenter of the threshold voltage distribution is determined. According tothe level of the center of the threshold voltage distribution, an erasevoltage is set. Then, the next erase operation is carried out. Thereading method of performing a read operation a plurality of times,while changing the weak erase verify level gradually is identical withthat in a normal read operation and a program verify read operation.

That is, as shown in FIG. 23, first, weak erasing is done using a lowerase voltage (S41). Thereafter, only a specific single word line in theblock is subjected to a weak erase verify operation using a normal readoperation and a program verify read operation (S51). The weak eraseverify operation may be carried out using specific two or more wordlines as in the second embodiment. Next, the counter 9 counts the numberof cells higher than the weak erase verify level (S43). Thereafter, itis determined whether the counted value is the center of the thresholdvoltage distribution (S52). That is, for example, the counted value ofthe counter 9 is compared with the preceding counted value to determinewhether the counted value has reached the maximum. Thus, the countedvalue is held in, for example, a register. If the result of thedetermination has shown the counted value has not reached the maximum,the read level, or the weak erase verify level, is increased slightly(S53). Using the increased weak erase verify level, the specific wordline is subjected to a weak erase verify operation (S51), the number ofcells is counted (S43), and it is determined whether the counted valueis the center of the threshold voltage distribution (S52). As a result,if the result has shown that the counted value is the center of thethreshold voltage distribution, the next erase voltage is set accordingto the counted value (S44). Thereafter, using the set erase voltage, anerase operation (S32), a verify operation (S34), a soft program sequence(S36), and a soft program verify operation (S37) are carried out. If thesoft program operation is unnecessary, it may be omitted.

In the third embodiment, after weak erasing is done, the thresholdvoltage of the memory cell connected to the specific word line isverified, while changing the weak erase verify level. The number ofcells which have exceeded the weak erase verify level is counted. On thebasis of the counted value, the center of the threshold voltagedistribution is detected. According to the center of the thresholdvoltage distribution, the next erase voltage is set. Accordingly, thenext erase voltage can be set more reliably, which enables the memorycells to be erased using fewer erase pulses. Consequently, not only canthe erase time be shortened, but also stress on the memory cells can bealleviated.

Of course, with one or more word lines being put in the selected state,a normal read operation or a source-follower read operation may be used.Furthermore, with one or more word lines being put in the selectedstate, a sequential scan and a verify reading operation may be carriedout, and reading results may be summed. By performing this summing, averify operation can be carried out reliably for cells within a selectedblock.

In step S34 of FIGS. 20, 22, and 23, all the memory cells have beenverified and, in step S37, all the NAND strings have been verified. Theinvention is not limited to this. For instance, as in FIG. 14, forexample, a specified value may be used to determine whether the numberof memory cells or NAND strings which have failed to pass theverification is equal to or less than the specified value.

Furthermore, as in FIG. 20, in FIGS. 22 and 23, if the verification hasnot been passed, the number of insufficiently erased memory cells may becounted and the erase voltage be changed according to the counted value.In addition, the number of bits may be counted immediately after theerase verify operation in step S33.

In the conventional case shown in FIG. 14 and in the embodiments shownin FIGS. 20, 22 and 23, an erase operation is carried out simultaneouslyfor all cells within a selected block on the basis of the timing shownin FIG. 15.

FIG. 31 shows an example of the memory cell array and row decoderdepicted in FIGS. 2 and 3. As described above, it is known that cellsadjacent to a select gate are poor in characteristics. Therefore, thecells adjacent to the select gate are used as dummy cells; they are notused for storing data. However, since the erase operation is performedin units of blocks, all cells within a block are erased, andsubsequently a soft program operation is simultaneously carried out forall cells within the block. As a result, the dummy cells are degraded.Since the dummy cells are located adjacent to the select gate, theircharacteristics may be lower than the characteristics of other cells. Ascompared with normal cells, the dummy cells may have very poorcharacteristics.

FIG. 32 shows a waveform corresponding to the case where an eraseoperation is performed for conventional dummy cells. As shown in FIG.33, however, the erase operation is eased where the voltages of wordlines WLDD and WLDS that are undergoing the erase operation are set at0.5V or 1V, for example. Since the erase operation is not fullyperformed, the dummy cells are prevented from degrading. To further easethe erase operation, it is possible to apply a high voltage to the wordlines. However, signal TransferG supplied to the gate of a transistorused for selecting the row decoder of a selected block is set at Vdd atthe time of an erase operation. Therefore, a voltage higher than Vddcannot be applied to the word lines through the transistor.

As shown in FIG. 34, signal TransferG supplied to the gate of thetransistor used for selecting the row decoder of the selected block canbe set at a voltage higher than Vdd, for example, at VreadH which isequal to the voltage applied at the time of a read operation. In thiscase, a voltage higher than Vdd can be applied to the word lines.

As shown in FIG. 35, signal TransferG supplied to the gate of thetransistor used for selecting the row decoder of the selected block isset at Vdd, and the driving circuit for driving dummy word lines WLDDand WLDS is set at Vdd. In response to this, only the transistor usedfor selecting the row decoder of the dummy cells is turned off, and thepotential of dummy word lines WLDD and WLDS becomes high due tocoupling. As a result, the dummy cell can be put in the unselectedstate. In this case, however, the word lines of the dummy cells are setbecome high in potential, and the word lines of the cells adjacent tothe dummy cell become higher than Vss as a result of coupling.Accordingly, the erase operation may take time.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 36, Vss is supplied to word lines WL0 andWL31, which are adjacent to dummy word lines WLDD and WLDS, and avoltage slightly lower than Vss (which is predetermined and is 0.5V or1V, for example) is supplied to the other word lines WL1-WL30, so as tomake an erase operation slightly hard to perform. In this manner, theerase operation for the cells corresponding to word lines WL0 and WL31adjacent to the dummy word lines and the erase operation for the cellscorresponding to the other word lines WL1-WL30 are equalized in thedegree of easiness.

Even where the erase operation for the dummy word lines is eased, theerase operation itself is made disabled, or the erase operation is noteased, it is still true that the characteristics of the dummy cells aredifferent from those of the other cells. It is therefore probable thatthe erase operation cannot be performed to the intended erase level andthe verify operation is not performed normally. In this case, a voltagehigher than the voltage applied to a selected word line is applied tothe dummy word lines (for example, Vdd or Vread are applied to them), soas to exclude the dummy word lines from the word lines to be verified.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventiveconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. (canceled) 2: A semiconductor memory device comprising: a memory cellarray including memory cells, the memory cells arranged in the memorycell array in a matrix form, and the memory cells connected to wordlines and bit lines; a control circuit configured to control voltages ofthe word lines and the bit lines, wherein, in a read operation for afirst memory cell among the memory cells, the control circuit applies afirst voltage to a first word line among the word lines, the first wordline connected to the first memory cell, and the control circuit appliesa second voltage lower than the first voltage to the first word line toread a data of the first memory cell. 3: the device according to claim2, wherein a time of an application of the first voltage is shorter thana time of an application of the second voltage. 4: The device accordingto claim 2, wherein the memory cells includes a second memory cell, thesecond memory cell is connected to the first memory cell in series and asecond word line among the word lines, and the control circuit applies athird voltage to the second word line during an application of the firstvoltage to the first word line. 5: The device according to claim 4,wherein the third voltage is higher than the first voltage. 6: Thedevice according to claim 4, wherein the control circuit applies thethird voltage to the second word line during an application of thesecond voltage to the first word line.